The Vice Chancellor for the University of Technology and Applied Sciences (UTAS), Navrongo, Professor Albert Luguterah, has expressed concern over the inadequate levels of infrastructure in the institution.
According to him, the limited infrastructure at the university was constraining enrollment of students, and this was affecting its ability to roll out relevant courses and Internally Generated Funds (IGF).
Speaking to The Ghanaian Times here on Wednesday, Prof. Luguterah said despite the potential of the university to become one of the leading research institutions in the country, it was under utilised due to the limited infrastructure available.
“We are constrained with lecture halls, student halls and hostels, libraries and all the necessary facilities that will support students while on campus as well as lecturers,” he said.
Despite this, Prof. Luguterah said management of the university was putting in efforts to ensure smooth operationalisation and academic work.
He explained that the university introduced a number of new undergraduate and post graduate programmes during the last academic year. These programmes he said were well-subscribed leading to an increased enrollment which had brought the current student population to about 4,006.
Some of the new undergraduate programmes rolled out, he mentioned, included the following: Bachelor of Science (Bsc) Nursing, Bsc Midwifery, Bsc Fisheries and Aquaculture, Bsc Medical Laboratory Sciences, and Bsc Public Health.
At the post graduate programmes, he listed, Master of Philosophy (Mphil)/Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Infectious Diseases and Immunology; Mphil/PhD Bio-Chemistry and Molecular Bio Medicine, as well as Mphil Anesthesia and Critical Care as the new programmes mounted.
In all, about 42 undergraduate and 39 postgraduate programmes were being offered at the school, according to the Vice Chancellor.
Prof. Luguterah hinted that other undergraduate programmes, such as Bsc Medicine and Bsc Health Information Management would be rolled out in the 2025/2026 academic year, adding that management, with support from the Ghana Health Service (GHS), was working aggressively to establish the Medical School.
He indicated that the programmes which had undergone several assessments from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), were only waiting for approval from the accreditation body.
“More programmes, including Engineering, are in the offing, and I call on government to, as it were, intervene to correct the anomalies, as the infrastructure issue was a major hurdle to us.
“We appreciate successive governments’ support to our university. But as the population is growing, we need more academic facilities, hostels to meet the demands of the increasing student population,” Prof. Luguterah said.
He further explained that, considering the serious infrastructure setbacks, the school could not manage student population that exceeded 5,000.
FROM FRANCIS DABRE DABANG, NAVRONGO
